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Vegetable market vendors face challenges

Though not as essential as air and water, fruits and vegetables are among the vital ingredients of a healthy human life.

The sprawling Fruits and Vegetable Market at Aweer is a testimony to this fact.

Nestled close to the city’s latest developments like the International City, Al Warqa and the Ras Al Khor Industrial Area, the market finally seems closer to the town than it was before.

Despite the several changes and renovations, the fruits and vegetable market at Aweer has not heralded a favourable situation for its vendors.

Declining footfall, rising prices and high cost of living have combined together to put a dampener on what was earlier a fruitful exercise.

Some vendors lay blame on the decision to shift the location of the market from Al Hamriya to Al Aweer, while others point the finger on the notorious ‘economic recession’.

Watermelon vendor Mohammed Shihab has been selling fruits in Dubai for nearly three decades.

Claiming to be a witness to the changing phases of the emirate, however, he feels the current situation seems to be the most difficult the city has ever faced.

“People blame shifting of the market location for the loss in business, but if you ask me, I have done better business after coming to this place. It was very good until last year or so. By Allah’s grace it is still good but much less than what we would expect at this time of
the year,” says Shihab.

As cool as the fruit he sells, cucumber vendor Lukman Kazi from Bangladesh offers many reasons for the declining business and surprisingly holy month of Ramadan is one among them. “Most of our customers are owners of cafeterias and restaurants who come here to buy vegetables and fruits at wholesale price. But during Ramadan, activities in these places start only after evening which means 50 per cent reduction in business for them as well as for us,” opines Kazi, adding that the Eid will bring new waves of hope.

Contrary to these beliefs Faisal Babu, who retails Indian vegetables, says Ramadan usually increases footfall in the market but not this year.

“Usually there is increased purchase during Ramadan as a lot of families come. But this year it has been different. I won’t say it is bad though,” says Babu, attributing the change in the trend to the weather and higher prices.

“This year Ramadan has fallen in the middle of the summer, during which the fruit and vegetable prices are usually higher due to greater risk of perishing, and adding to this our market is not air conditioned. People prefer supermarkets where they can avoid the heat, even though they have to pay slightly more,” Babu points out.

Though the decade-old market seems to have lost the retail business to super markets, wholesalers seem to have flourished here.

With bigger and greater facilities to accommodate huge trailers, better conservation system and a general atmosphere that encourages trade, the wholesale business have thrived in the market.

“This is the place for big caterers, supermarkets and restaurateurs to get their bargain.
The place is designed to facilitate them and it has worked quite well. As for common people, the market is too far and the weather most of the time is not conducive. It’s better to shop at supermarkets where one has the opportunity to pick and choose unlike here,”
says Khamis Abdul Rahman, who pays occasional visit to the market when he passes by the area, but prefers the convenience of supermarkets.

Though the prices in the Aweer market are quite lower than those in the supermarkets and the fruits are fresher, for common man those are not enough incentives to drive all the way from the city.

However, the vendors content of surviving yet another day of hard haggling feel better days are not far away.

shafaat@khaleejtimes.com